Anecdotes

Turned down the offer to direct Arrête-moi si tu peux (2002), opting to do La chambre forte (2002) instead.

Turned down the offer to direct 8 millimètres (1999), opting to do Fight Club (1999) instead.

Like one of his main influences Stanley Kubrick, he demands a high number of takes for each scene in attempt to familiarize the cast with the film sets and dialogue as well as deconstructing their carefully constructed performances in favor of a more genuine performance.

It was the 1969 feature film, Butch Cassidy et le Kid (1969) that inspired him to pursue a career in cinema.

While growing up in Marin County, one of his neighbors was George Lucas. He later worked on the special effects crew of La guerre des étoiles VI: Le retour du jedi (1983), produced and written by Lucas.

Turned down the offer to direct Batman: Le commencement (2005).

Has been close friends with Brad Pitt ever since working together on Sept (1995).

Directed 7 actors in Oscar nominated performances: Brad Pitt, Taraji P. Henson, Jesse Eisenberg, Rooney Mara,Rosamund Pike, Gary Oldman, and Amanda Seyfried.

Fincher has stated that the shock twist ending in the script for Se7en (1995) was not intended for him to read, and was sent by accident. He insisted on the twist ending, but the studio preferred a happier ending. The support of Brad Pitt led the studio to relent. Fincher also stated Pitt was instrumental in securing Kevin Spacey's involvement in the film.

Jake Gyllenhaal publicly expressed the difficulty of David Fincher's working style, mentioning the challenge of doing numerous takes only to have Fincher order the deletion of many of the previous takes.

Since directing Zodiac, he has become a major proponent of digital cinematography. He has used digital cameras to shoot all of his films since 2007. In the documentary Side by Side, he expressed his affinity for the greater control and fluidity of the film-making process it grants him.

His favorite films include: Butch Cassidy et le Kid (1969), Dracula (1931), Fenêtre sur cour (1954), Bienvenue Mister Chance (1979), Les dents de la mer (1975), Lawrence d'Arabie (1962), Valley of the Dolls (1967), Orgissimo (1970), Dr Folamour (1964), 8 1/2 (1963), Alien: Le huitième passager (1979), Graffiti américains (1973), Citizen Kane (1941), Cabaret (1972) and L'année de tous les dangers (1982).

Was originally considered to direct Hannibal (2001).

Was originally set to direct Mission: Impossible III (2006), but dropped out.

Was originally considered to direct Spider-Man (2002).

Met his partner, Ceán Chaffin, in the early '90s when she produced a Japanese Coca-Cola ad he was directing.

With eight nominations, he has received more nominations for the MTV Video Music Award than any other director in history. 7 of the 8 nominations occurred in a 3 year span (1989 to 1991). He also sets the record of nominations in three consecutive years.

He is a big fan of Bram Stoker's classic novel Dracula.

At the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, three out of four nominees for Best Direction in a Video - "The End of the Innocence" by Don Henley, "Janie's Got a Gun" by Aerosmith, and "Vogue" by Madonna - were directed by him ("Vogue" won.).

Developed two TV projects for HBO, supposed to air on 2016, which both weren't finalized: Utopia featuring a plot heavily steeped in underground, cyber-punk themes, adapted by Gillian Flynn and starring Rooney Mara, Colm Feore, Eric McCormack, Dallas Roberts, Jason Ritter, Brandon Scott, and Agyness Deyn was canceled by HBO over budget constraints. Fincher reportedly asked for $100 million to make the first season. "Videosyncrasy" (2016), about an aspiring filmmaker, who arrives in Hollywood during the early 1980s and lands a job working on music videos, was put on a hold mid-way during the shooting of the first season, because HBO wasn't satisfied with the direction of the show. At first, the show was supposed to be retooled with additional script work, but production was eventually shut down for good.

In 2005, he directed the video for Nine Inch Nails' "Only". Ten years earlier, he used Coil's version of the Nine Inch Nails' song "Closer" during the opening credits montage of his film Sept (1995).

He is the second director (following Steve Barron) to receive a MTV Video Music Award nomination for three different music videos within a single year. He first achieved this in 1989 (for Jody Watley's "Real Love," Steve Winwood's Roll with It" & Madonna's "Express Yourself"). After tying this record, he repeated the feat in 1990 with nominations for Madonna's "Vogue," Don Henley's "The End of the Innocence," and Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun." He is the only director to achieve this twice, and along with Steve Barron, the only director to achieve it.

He is one of the first music video directors to have become a major Hollywood feature-filmmaker. In later years, several directors followed in his footsteps including Zack Snyder, Spike Jonze, Alex Proyas, Marc Webb, Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, F. Gary Gray, Francis Lawrence as well as several directors who worked with Fincher's music video production company Propaganda Films.

Was originally considered to direct Confessions d'un homme dangereux (2002).

Good friends with Madonna.

Was originally set to direct Le dahlia noir (2006), but dropped out.

His video for Madonna's "Express Yourself" voted #1 in Slant Magazines Top 100 Videos. 2 of his other Madonna videos also made the list. "Vogue" at #4 & "Oh, Father" at #11. (19th January 2003)

David Fincher's involvement with cinematographers Harris Savides (Zodiac) and Jeff Cronenweth (Fight Club, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl) predates Fincher's work as a feature-film director. Both cinematographers had worked for Fincher early in his music video directing career.

He works frequently with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker.

Some of his favorite movies include Chinatown (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), The Godfather Part 2 (1974), Being There (1979), All That Jazz (1979), Zelig (1983), Paper Moon (1973), All the President's Men (1976), Days of Heaven (1978), Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1982), The Terminator (1981), The Exorcist (1973), The Graduate (1967), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

Lived for several years in Ashland, Oregon and graduated from Ashland High School.

A founder member of Propaganda Films in 1986.

Was considered to direct L'extraordinaire Spider-Man (2012).

Was originally set to direct Au lit avec Madonna (1991), but dropped out.

He won his first Grammy Award on March 1, 1995 (for The Rolling Stones' "Love is Strong." He won the same award nearly 20 years later on January 26, 2014 (for Justin Timberlake's "Suit & Tie"). His 2014 win marks the longest time period between two wins.

His filmmaking influences include Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, George Roy Hill and Alan J Pakula.

Daughter, Phelix Imogen Fincher (b. 25 April 1994), with Donya Fiorentino.

He has worked with father and son cinematographers Jordan Cronenweth and Jeff Cronenweth. Jordan was the initial cinematographer on Alien³ (1992) before being replaced by Alex Thomson after two weeks due to Parkinson's Disease. Jeff has been a frequent collaborator since Fight Club (1999).

He has directed three films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: L'étrange histoire de Benjamin Button (2008), Le réseau social (2010) and Mank (2020).

He has directed one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Le réseau social (2010).

He has directed two actors who have played Bruce Banner. Edward Norton in Fight Club (1999) and Mark Ruffalo in Le zodiaque (2007).

He was set to adapt 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, describing it as "really kind of gross, and cool, and wet, and steampunk and all that." However, he left the project due to creative difference with Disney.

Currently filming Le zodiaque (2007) in San Francisco. (septembre 2005)